Excursion completed! ODO: 2714 Click here to comment
Went on another run today, this one I did solo to test my loading strategy for Vegas in two weeks. I think I’ll be prepared to undertake the COS to LAS via Grand Canyon run.
Some items worth mentioning… the trip between points D and E on the linked map were by far the most challenging and fun part of today’s trip. This was my first real attempt at traversing a gravel road, which motorcycle riders know must be treated with the utmost respect as traction is reduced greatly due to the lack of a firm gripping surface. Things like cornering I ended up taking on 2nd gear if I was going around a blind turn. Surprisingly there were a couple cars coming down the path, but even more surprising I didn’t meet a car in one of the many one-lane sections of the road… I would have hated to back up through a narrow path to let a car through. Also,my new eTrex H apparently tracks GPS signals while in my jacket pocket. Nice. 
What I didn’t care for was the first leg of my trip, heading down I-25 towards Colorado City. It seems that once I passed Academy Blvd at the north end of Ft. Carson there was a particularly strong crosswind all the way down to Colorado City. I felt like I was riding alot faster than I actually was… the wind was pretty strong and blowing against me. I hope that’s not a common feature of the wide-open space south of Colorado Springs, but if so I guess I’ll be able to handle it, since Walsenburg isn’t too far past Colorado City, and the crosswind effect dissipated once I got off the freeway. Maybe if I plot properly I can even avoid the I-25.
Read the rest of the post to see pictures w/ GPS coordinates.